Speed Racer

Go, Speed Racer! Go!

In a day when people often say that there is nothing original in the world anymore, a fresh new concept is the coolest thing in the world. The vision and style the Wachowski Brothers have applied in Speed Racer is one that defies that mentality. Yet, because of it, people wont see it.

Speed Racer is a family friendly adaptation of the classic cartoon brought to life in a live action-CG hybrid. While the characters are played by actors, the action (racing) and world are almost completely computer generated in a retro cartoonish style. What else would you expect from the brothers that wrote and directed The Matrix trilogy?

While Speed Racer is a PG film open to every age group, a large chunk of it is created for adults and will pass over the minds of youngsters. Speed Racer opens with the main character, Speed Racer (yes, that is his name), in an amateur auto race somewhere in the future. This opening sequence is chocked full of backstory and character development and lasts what feels like twenty minutes. If the story is going to leave anyone behind, it will happen here.

After Speed blows the world away with an amazing finish, every big racing team is looking to sign him. It is here that the conflict begins for Speed, his family and his loved ones. The road that follows is filled with backstabbing, vengeance, lots and lots of action packed racing, a little romance and a good rush of emotion.

Like every other Wachowski project (The Matrix and V For Vendetta), Speed Racer also packs a subtle moral about something they feel to be a problem with our current society: the problem that exists between art and going commercial. And while it doesn’t blatantly criticize commercialism for the harsh criticisms about the second and third Matrix movies (like M. Night Shyamalan did to his critic character in Lady In The Water), it definitely says what’s on their mind.

While the special effects fit Speed Racer perfectly, so do the cast members. Speed is played by Emile Hirsch, recently seen in a stellar performance in Into The Wild (which he was also backhanded for by the Academy by not getting a best actor nomination [as if George Clooney’s performance in Michael Clayton wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before (Hirsch should’ve gotten Clooney’s nom)]). His parents are played by John Goodman (who is excellent in everything he does) and Susan Sarandon (who has reminded me of my mother ever since I saw her in Elizabethtown). Matthew Fox (Jack from TV’s Lost) plays the mysterious driver, Racer X. And the lovely Christina Ricci (who really needs to be in a lot more movies because she’s quite good) plays Speed’s childhood romantic interest and best friend, Trixie. Note: there’s also a chimpanzee named Chim-Chim, which adds promise to any show.

Even though I don’t think Speed Racer is a kid’s movie, kids will enjoy it. Parents be warned that, although it is PG, they somehow got away with showing a child give the finger to a bad guy. Adults, see it. Just because it looks weird, doesn’t mean it’s not good. Step outside the box and experience something original in this cookie-cutter entertainment rut we’re in. (Just wait for my Prince Caspian review to find out more about that thought).

Photo credit: Warner Bros.